The Reason Why EMV Card Readers Are Not Turned On Yet

If you've been to any stores that are not yet using their EMV card readers, despite having the terminals in place since the fall, apparently the delay is due to Visa and MasterCard:

In addition to the delay in implementation, some retailers claim they have installed the card readers, but are waiting for the credit card industry to do their part.

“If you walk through a mall, you can see that there are chip card readers installed and ready to go but cards are still being swiped,” said J. Craig Shearman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation (NRF). “Once the retailer installs the card reader, the credit card industry has to send people out to certify the installation."

According to the NRF, the certification process has taken longer than expected, with some retailers waiting months to get their EMV card readers up and running.

One frustrated retailer who has been waiting for certification is Avi Kaner, co-owner of the Morton Williams supermarket in New York. In an interview with the New York Times, Kaner said he spent $700,000 on buying the necessary equipment, but has been waiting since October for the card readers to be certified by the credit card industry. Since his customers are unable to use the EMV credit card readers, Kaner is stuck paying thousands of dollars for fraudulent charges. (The October liability shift meant that merchants must pay for fraudulent charges if EMV card readers are not installed and working.)

One grocery store owner in Florida is even suing Visa, MasterCard and American Express for delaying the certification process.

I was at Coscto last night, and they still didn't have the chip reader up and running. My guess is that Amex isn't; going to bother certifying all the card readers at this point. And Visa is not accepted yet.

But for the first time in forever, the cashier actually compared the name on my membership card to the name on my credit card.

So maybe they are hoping their membership structure helps protect them against fraud.